‘Harry Potter’ at 20: A look back at ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ (2016) (Book review)
For the 20th anniversary of “Harry Potter,” I’m looking back at the books and films of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World saga. 2007’s “Deathly Hallows” remains the most recent novel J.K. Rowling has penned in the Wizarding World, but she has expanded the saga since with Pottermore.com writings, the “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
‘Harry Potter’ at 20: A look back at ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ (2007) (Book review)
For the 20th anniversary of “Harry Potter,” I’m looking back at the books and films of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World saga. The seventh and final book in J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard saga, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” (2007), is the one I most underrated on my first read. Perhaps it plays better with the first six
‘Harry Potter’ at 20: A look back at ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ (2005) (Book review)
For the 20th anniversary of “Harry Potter,” I’m looking back at the books and films of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World saga. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (2005), the sixth and penultimate book in the saga, is J.K. Rowling’s most confident entry (with one caveat that I’ll get to). Like a symphony conductor, she alters the
‘Harry Potter’ at 20: A look back at ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ (2003) (Book review)
For the 20th anniversary of “Harry Potter,” I’m looking back at the books and films of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World saga. The three-year wait between “Goblet of Fire” and “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”(2003), known among fans as “The Long Summer,” is the last period when the series could be dismissed as just
‘Harry Potter’ at 20: A look back at ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ (2000) (Book review)
For the 20th anniversary of “Harry Potter,” I’m looking back at the books and films of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World saga. After three books that weighed in at no more than 435 pages, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”(2000) kicks off a four-book run of doorstops with a 734-page tome. J.K. Rowling uses the extra
‘Harry Potter’ at 20: A look back at ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ (1999) (Book review)
For the 20th anniversary of “Harry Potter,” I’m looking back at the books and films of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World saga. “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (1999) is to young-adult novels what Garbage’s “Only Happy When It Rains” is to rock music. After the fun and world-building of the first two books, the third
‘Harry Potter’ at 20: A look back at ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ (1998) (Book review)
For the 20th anniversary of “Harry Potter,” I’m looking back at the books and films of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World saga. “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” (1998) is the first book where J.K. Rowling was writing for an expectant audience. “Sorcerer’s Stone” went seven years from gestation to published product, but for the sequel,
‘Harry Potter’ at 20: A look back at ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ (1997) (Book review)
On this 20th anniversary of the day J.K. Rowling introduced Harry Potter to the world, I take a look back at “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” I’ll have posts on all the books and movies throughout this anniversary year. I recently found hardcovers of “Harry Potter” books 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7 for
John’s top 10 movies of 2016
These were my 10 favorite movies of 2016: 1. “The Witch” – This horror film set in Colonial America delivers a striking sense of time and place (so much so that you might want to put the subtitles on to grasp the language), with life-threatening poverty as an omnipresent invisible character. On top of that, it
‘Fantastic Beasts’ is an enjoyable expansion of the ‘Harry Potter’ universe (Movie review)
In 2009, I predicted – not particularly daringly – that we’d get another “Harry Potter” novel someday. Seven years later, while that prediction isn’t precisely on point, it’s in the ballpark: This year saw the book release of the stage play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” – based on ideas by J.K. Rowling – and now